Tele pickups recommendation please?

[Robert****]

I am thinking about getting my pickups for my Squier Tele. I want classic, vintage sounds, minimal noise. Don't need to be very hot. I want it to work for some country twang and my usual blues lead playing. I want to get away from the icepick in my ear kind of sound. So far, these ones have been on my list of possible candidates:

• Bill Lawrence L280
• Lollar Vintage T
• Dimarzio Twang King for neck, Vintage Hot T for bridge
• Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro or Broadcasters
• GFS (don't know much about them)
• Kinman (a bit expensive)
• Fralin (a bit expensive)

My Squier Tele's pups are not horrible, but the difference in treble between neck and bridge pickup is just too much to live with. The neck pup is way too muddy.

[tremoloman***]

Robert,

I'd go to a local shop and try out some used models - you can get a good idea of sound by trying them out for yourself.

When you do decide to go for one, try eBay - I've bought almost all of my effects on there for 50% off the cost of a new one. If you don't like the one you pick, put it back up on eBay, and you can sell it for the same amount. I call this the eBay loaner program.

[Bigbear]

Keep an eye on ebay, man.
Sometimes new models are on there for a good price.. but more often than not used models are there.... used models are just as good... it takes alot of punishment to hurt a pickup... only thing you should check for on used pickups is the amount of wire left... you need at least an inch left on both wires to make installation easier... as least from my experence

[Bloozcat]

Robert,

Try contacting Pete Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Guitars. He custom winds pickups at very reasonable prices. His single coils have a particularly good reputation.

You can describe what you're looking for and Pete will make recommendations based on your criteria. Pete shields his single coils resulting in greatly reduced amounts of 60 cycle hum. They're not totally noiseless, but they are quieter than most std. single coils. He's easy to work with, and he's very fast.

I recently ordered a Tele neck pickup from Pete for my Squire '51. I told him I was looking for a 50's type Tele toned pickup with 43ga wire and a nickel cover. Pete's normally uses 42ga wire on his std. Tele neck pickup of this type. He custom wound mine in 43ga wire @ 7500 turns/7.0k resistance and had it on my doorstep clear across the country in 4 days. Cost: $60.00 including the nickel cover, mounting screws/tubing, and shipping. I'm still waiting for the last of the parts I'll need to completely re-wire my '51, so it'll be probably another week before I can give you a review of the pickup. Pete has really great reviews on HC, though. Check them out.

BTW: I haven't forgotten about the Fender decal that I had mentioned to you a couple of weeks back. When I tried to scan the decal into my computer, it picked up the white backing paper in the image. When printed on clear paper, the decal has the white background instead of being transparent as it should be. I didn't want to try seperating the decal from the backing paper and transferring it to a clear backing as it's the only decal I have and if something else goes wrong, I will lose the decal. I have heard that Little Ricky (from whom I got the decal) may be thinking about having some more made up. He had said that if there was enough interest, and if he could figure out a cost per decal so he could be reimbursed for his expenses, he might do it. I haven't heard any updates lately.

[Robert****]

Thanks, Bloozcat, I'l give that some thought. I am currently getting an SM 57 so I can record my stuff, and I also need a cheap bass for the same purpose.

No sweat about those decals. I am still in love with my '51! I am a Photoshop maniac, so if you need any photo editing for fixing up those scans, I might just be the right man.

[Robert****]

The problem I have with pickups and speakers, is that it's damn hard to try out in advance! I mean I can't buy a bunch of pickups and install them in the same number of guitars and play them back and forth and compare. It's pretty much a shot in the dark I think. All I can go by is what people say, except maybe for trying out a guitar with certain pickups, but they might not sound the same in my guitar, etc.... I have the same problem trying to pick out a speaker for my Hellhound. Thanks for all the suggestions though!

[Spudman***]

Hey Robert.

Unless your speaker is blown and that is why you need to replace it I would like to offer a suggestion. I've been hanging with some other players lately and like me they use a combo amp, but they have extension cabinets for them. Their sound is much better in my opinion.

I have a few 1x12 and 2x12 amps. The 2x12 Marshall sounded so much better with another cabinet but I have sold that cabinet. It seems that what is lacking in the amp's speaker can be made up for with another cabinet. I'm sure that it depends on what you are after whether you go open back, closed back, speaker type etc. While it may cost a bit more for another loaded cabinet you may end up with the best of both worlds and more output as well. Not to mention the spread and speaker angles you can have with 2 seperate cabinets.

I'm dealing with a problem of getting my Hot Rod Deluxe to sound just right as well as my Classic 30. I know that I need to push more air and a little tighter bottom is desired as well. Both situations cannot be taken care of by speaker replacement alone.

Just a thought.

[SuperSwede]

Robert, I am considering a change of pickups on my tele as well. Do you know if it is hard to install them on a squier tele? We dont have screws for the neck pickup, and really minimum cavities for the pups.
I am considering the Vintage Noiseless pickups, but I have read that they have a rather "sharp" tone, and I would like a smooth, mellow tone.

[Robert****]

Spudman, I'd like both a new speaker in my Hellhound and an external cab. Because my Hellhound will have its own internal speaker play the sound as well as the external speaker cab. It's designed that way, and I want both the combo and the external cab to sound good.


Swede, I haven't changed pickups in a Tele before, thanks for the heads up! There's nothing like learning on the fly! I'd like DiMarzio Virtual Vintage (noiseless too).

[SuperSwede]

Well, I removed the pick-guard on my tele and it is really cramped, the cavities looked smaller than on a Fender Tele. But I have never replaced pickups on a guitar myself before so I am a little curious on how to do it properly. I also want to change the volume and tone pots (they are a bit noisy)

[Nelskie]

Robert - Spudman makes a good point with using an ext. cabinet. I picked up a matching Classic 112E cabinet for my Classic 30, and it turned that rig into a fire-breathing monster of tone. That particular cabinet has a closed-back design, which really rounded out the bottom end. Even with the the marginal factory speaker, the cab sounds great. I eventually want to change out the speaker to a Eminence "Swamp Thang", which I think will be a nice compliment to the Celestion Vintage 30 that I'm running in my C30 amp. I've also run my Epi Valve Junior through the 112E, with excellent results.

I've seen some places that have really nice pre-fab ext. cabinets for sale. Some places will even finish them with the cab covering & grille material of your choice, which is way cool. They come pre-wired, so all you have to do is drop in the speaker of your choice, and you're ready to rock!!

Adding an extension cabinet to your amp set-up is a convenient, and cost-effective way to really enhance your tone. Even if you eventually are planning on a speaker change-out for your Reverend, the ext. cab. might be a more logical, albeit more expensive, first step.

[Robert****]

Well I need to change the speaker in my Hellhound, since it's suffering from cone cry. I've been thinking about installing a Celestion Vintage 30 - how do you like that one Nelskie?

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Robert , celestion vintage 30's are a nice speaker , they break up a little earlier , so if you are looking for clean sounds dont go there but if you want a gritty blusey sound then it may be a good choice , i'd also check out weber speakers , highly regarded and their customer sevice is 2nd to none, regarding extension speakers that should work fine for you either a single 12 or 2-12's , just male sure that you select the proper ohm rating , keeping in mind you need to make sure that your load "ohms" must match up ,to your transformers specs .... regarding pickups .. check out this site . lollar vintage t"s are spectacular i've played a tele set up with them and they'd be my go too p/u.. http://www.lollarguitars.com/

[Nelskie]

Robert - 69SL is spot-on with his description of the Celestion Vintage 30's tonal characteristics. It has a cool "British" flavour to it, too (and I wonder why that is??!!), which I dig as well. That being said, I would also add that through this particular speaker, the clean channel on my C30 is very full, with plenty of that desirable "clean" character. As long as you're attentive to your amp and guitar controls, I don't see why this speaker wouldn't perform effectively for you when dialed into your Reverend's clean channel. I play my Squier Tele on the clean setting quite a bit, and with the Fender Vintage Noiseless p'ups it has in it, the tone I get is very "true-to-life" - twangly and bright on the bridge; creamy and smooth on the neck. In other words, exactly how I would want a Tele to sound. On my Strats, I get a great Yardbirds-y tone when driving the clean channel with volume, and the Celestion seems to really pick-up the tones that are in that general ballpark. So yeah, I'd say that the Vintage 30 is a pretty versatile speaker, tone-wise.

Remember this, too - you'll have some "give & take" with any speaker you decide to install. It might sound a little better clean, or a little better dirty. There's no real bottom-line solution to that equation. Celestions are solid, dependable, well-built speakers that a lot of pros use. They're designed to shine for the blues / rock player in particular, and for me, that's a pretty accurate description of my "own" tone. I also have a Weber in my Valve Junior, and I absolutely love it's heavenly clean tones - esp. with my Fender guitars. Dirty - yeah, it'll do just fine - but the bell-like, chimey cleans of that Alnico 8S are wonderful, and far outweigh it's distortion-handling capabilities. That was the trade-off, and in my book, it was a good one.

My advice is this: go with your gut-feeling, and don't skimp on quality. If you do this, chances are you'll be happy with your decision, no matter how much feedback you get otherwise from us here at Fret Net.

[r_a_smith3530]

Robert, it seems this thread has gotten away from pickups and moved on to speakers, but I'd like to revisit the pickup part for just a moment.

My USA Peavey Reactor (Hartley's take on a tele) had thin sounding pickups. I wanted the sound of Albert Collins. To that end, I did some major surgery on my Reactor. The result was great!

I'm not suggesting that you route your body for a rhythm humbucker, but I am suggesting that you check out the pickup I used in the bridge position. That pickup, a TAPPED version of Seymour Duncan's Hot Tele Lead, is phenomenal! When running tapped, I get all the syrupy vintage tele twang that I can handle, but when I switch to the full-on it sings with a powerful twanging voice that definitely qualifies as Texas hot. I've found it to be quite versatile which is why I chose it in the first place.

Just a thought.

[SuperSwede]

How does that Duncan pickup work together with a standard tele neck pickup? Does it compare volume wise to the standard bridge pickup when tapped?

[Justaguyin_nc]

Hey Robert, I been waiting on a tele from MusciansFriend and was planning on changing the pickups right off or at least within a few weeks of receiving it. I noticed your first pick in your list is the Bill Lawrence L-280. I was leaning strongly towards a set of Fender Noiseless which run around $100. Then I noticed Fender is now releasing the SCN pickups which by reviews blow away the Fender Vintage Noiseless... The SCN's are suppose to sell about $160 for the pair.. Well, After seeing that Bill Lawrence designed these I searched out his site and he suggest the L-280TN and L-290TL paired into a Tele for the best in sound and no humm... looking up reviews on these it seems he might be correct... and the best thing of all... $40.00 a pickup... So...I think I am leaning this way now... ofcourse I probably will be waiting another week or two just get my hands on my squier tele.... who knows what I will be thinking by then.. just my 2 cents worth...

[Spudman***]

The best Tele pickups that I have ever heard are VanZandt. Costly but awesome.

[Justaguyin_nc]

Well, I been waiting to recieve pricing from Bill Lawrence site and have come to figure they just don't have a good purchasing setup on their site yet.. Have also noticed in reviews it takes like 5 weeks to get them shipped.. As impatient as I am... Musiciansfriends now have The Vintage Noiseless Pickups in stock and seeing the SCN's will probably be around $160.00 and The guitar costs 200.00... I went with the Vintage Noiseless.. The funny thing buying there is.. if you buy them together it's 99.99 while apart is 44.95 each.. I did the math and got them $10.00 cheaper.. now to wait and see how much it improves the hummm...

Well, not really cheaper...as you need a purchase of 99.99 for free shipping.. sooo.. another few picks and strings made it free shipping..